The Test of Courage
by Chewie Cookies
Summary: The members of Konoha High's writers' club go to Hokkaido for a spooky event this Halloween! Little do they realize, something more is going on, and two of the club members, Naruto and Hinata, become directly involved!


The Test of Courage

Disclaimer: I disclaim all that is used in this work of fanfiction, including, but not limited to, Akamaru. Then again, why would I want to separate the dynamic duo?

One Halloween night, in Hokkaido

The Konoha High writers' club had taken a field trip to Hokkaido for inspiration, and just for the fun of it. Who are we kidding? They're there to have fun, and if inspiration whacks them upside the head, they're fine with that, too. This year, they're mostly seniors, so they've decided not to bother with trick-or-treating. Kiba Inuzuka had a better idea.

"A test of courage?" Naruto questioned, slurping his cup ramen in the lobby of the inn the group was staying at.

"Yeah! I've even got the perfect setup for one!" Kiba exclaimed, causing Akamaru, who was sitting next to him on the floor, to bark happily. "It took forever for me to find an inn that would allow me to bring Akamaru, and it just happens to be close to the area where the test will take place!"

Hinata giggled, lowering a piece of meat down to where Akamaru could reach it. "I'm glad Akamaru-kun could come!" she said happily, adding, "It's always a little more fun when we have our unofficial sixth member."

"Yeah!" Fuu, their youngest member, agreed, snapping her fingers once to get Akamaru to head over to her. "Does Aka-waka want a belly rub? Does he? I'm sure he does!" she said in a silly voice, and Akamaru happily laid on his back, allowing the girl to give him a belly rub.

Shino, the eldest member of their group, pushed his glasses up, as he was oft to do. "This is a very good idea, Kiba. Why is that, you ask? Because while performing the event, our minds will be stimulated, and the lot of us just might stumble upon the inspiration we require," the insect enthusiast explained.

"What is the test, anyway? You never told us," Naruto asked, curious as to what they'd be doing.

Kiba frowned. "Yeah I did. I sent everyone a text about it on Wednesday," he replied.

Naruto groaned. "And I maxed my texting for the month on Tuesday! Just my luck!" the blond complained.

Kiba grinned. "Well, here's the story behind it. There's an apple tree in the forest south of here. An old lady was picking apples for an apple pie to make for her husband, back in the feudal era. However, she fell from the tree and broke her neck! Naturally, they couldn't help with such an injury back then, and she died. Her elderly husband committed suicide, vowing to meet his wife on the other side to beg for forgiveness, as he blamed himself for her death. The husband's spirit passed on, but the wife's still lingers by the apple tree, wanting her husband to come help her up to the heavens. They say if you go to that tree at night, you can still see her lying there, reaching to the sky in the hopes that her husband will come to her, and she will gaze at you with those dead, pupil-less eyes if you come near her!" he explained, really getting into the telling of the tale near the end.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his seat in fright, then gained a contemplative expression. "Wait a minute, Hinata-chan has pupil-less eyes, and they don't look scary," he said, taking a quick look at his girlfriend's eyes to reaffirm the fact that they're the most beautiful pair of eyes he's ever seen. "Yeah, still the prettiest eyes I've ever looked at."

Hinata blushed lightly. "T-thank you, Naruto-kun. Your eyes are still the n-nicest looking that I've s-seen, too," she replied, twiddling her index fingers.

Kiba grinned. "Maybe it's one of her ancestors? Her family does own land around here, after all!" the dog lover exclaimed, then shouted, "Either way, it's still a ghost!"

Naruto jumped out of his chair when Kiba shouted the word 'ghost'. "G-g-g-g-ghost!" Naruto shouted in fright, doing a very good impression of a certain hippie from a certain cartoon show, then hiding under the table for a full minute. Hinata went under with him to help calm him down.

Fuu groaned. "Kiba, are you sure you're not just making this up and having us do this to pick on Naruto?" she asked, frowning at the brunette.

Kiba chuckled. "Yes to the first, and maybe to the second," he replied, still grinning. Akamaru simply whined, pawing at Naruto worriedly.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses again. "We should begin shortly. Why? Because the sun set an hour ago, and it will be dark enough for us to complete the test, but still early enough in the evening that if one of us gets lost, we can call for a search party that will consist of people who are still awake and alert," he said, then turned to Kiba and added, "Kiba-san, explain to Naruto-san what must be done to complete the test."

Kiba groaned. "Fine. Listen carefully so I don't have to repeat myself. I picked these apples from that apple tree earlier today, and carved our names in them. We'll go in pairs, and take the apples with our names carved in them to the tree, then leave them there. Next morning, we'll go back, and see who all has their apples under the tree. The people who have apples under the tree will have passed, and the ones who don't...get cleaning duty in the club room for the next two weeks!" he explained.

Hinata smiled. "Well, I already know who my partner is," she said with a blush, grabbing Naruto's hand in her own. Naruto sent a brilliant smile her way immediately.

Fuu glomped Shino, grinning happily. "You'll take good care of me, won't you, Shino-senpai?" she giggled, showing everybody around just who she liked.

Shino blushed slightly, and nodded. "I would do well not to disappoint my kohai," he said his voice shaking slightly.

Kiba grinned at the others. "There's no way you're going to beat us! Akamaru and I are the ultimate team!" he exclaimed, causing the aforementioned dog to wag his tail in excitement.

The three groups decided that they'd take turns, the second team going twenty minutes after the first team left, and the third team going forty minutes after the first team left. They drew numbered sticks to figure out who would go when...

Team One: Kiba and Akamaru

Kiba smirked. "This will be easy, especially with the trail of dog treats I set out earlier in the day!" he exclaimed. He and Akamaru rushed off, following the trail of dog treats, which Akamaru gobbled up as he went, naturally.

They came to the clearing where the apple tree was, but upon entering the area, they felt a chill.

"_Help me up...It hurts..."_ an unknown woman's voice sounded. Kiba gulped, and upon looking at the base of the tree on the other side of the clearing, he saw an old woman, lying on her back with her head lolling to the side.

"_Please, help me up...!"_ she called out, and it was then that Kiba realized he could SEE RIGHT THROUGH HER!

Kiba had a sudden urge to shout, "Zoinks!" Instead, he screamed like a little girl and ran off, dropping the apples with his and Akamaru's names where he stood. Akamaru, not fearing the ghost, thought his master was playing a game, and chased after him happily.

The ghost groaned again. _"Dammit, Kiba-kun..."_

Team Two: Naruto and Hinata

Naruto was thoroughly freaked out when Kiba came running back to the starting point screaming his head off, with Akamaru close behind.

Hinata groaned. "Dammit, Kiba-kun," she said softly, upset by the boy's antics. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. He's just trying to scare you again," she reassured her boyfriend, hugging him softly. "We'll get through this just fine."

Naruto nodded, shivering a bit. "Y-yeah, you're r-right. He's j-just being an i-idiot like u-usual," he stammered.

Hinata sighed. "Don't worry, you only have to go far enough that they think you went to the tree with me. I know the way there by heart, since I played by it when I was little. I'll take both our apples there, and we won't get stuck with desk duty," she explained, finishing off with a sweet smile.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks. You're the best, Hinata-chan!" he exclaimed, wrapping the smaller girl in a bear hug, causing her to blush like crazy. Releasing the blunette, he raised his arm in the air. "Let's get going!" he exclaimed, then realized it wasn't time yet and added, "...when it's time to go..."

Ten minutes later

"Okay, NOW let's get going!" Naruto exclaimed, and Hinata led the way as they wandered into the forest.

Sadly, a few minutes into their trek, Naruto's enthusiasm had waned considerably. Every sound scared him out of his mind, and he began to get panicky. Naturally, this worried Hinata. "Naruto-kun, please calm down! You're making me scared for your health!" she said softly, worry evident in her voice.

Naruto nodded. "I know, Hinata-chan...I've never really explained why I was afraid of ghosts, have I?" he said. Hinata held her boyfriend's hand, listening closely. "After my parents died, I had to live in an orphanage for a few days to wait for my godparents to return home from their vacation in America. The rooms were all full, except for one, that the other kids said was haunted. I had to stay in that room for three nights, Hinata-chan, and I didn't sleep a wink for one of them," he explained, then continued, "At the start of the night, I'd hear scraping and thumping. Later on, I found out that was the other kids messing with me, but later in the night, I'd hear a disembodied voice call out in a creepy way, "Play with me." I was so terrified after those three days and nights at that orphanage that I was actually diagnosed with a phobia of ghosts and spirits...I forget the technical term at the moment, but that's what's wrong with me. I even get spooked if somebody just shouts the word 'ghost'!"

Hinata held Naruto close. "Why didn't you tell us, Naruto-kun? We wouldn't have done this event if we'd known about your disorder," the blunette said softly.

Naruto nodded. "I know...I just didn't want you guys to think I'm weird or anything..." the blue-eyed boy replied.

Hinata smiled. "I always thought of you as weird, Naruto-kun. But just like how you like my weirdness, I like yours," she giggled. The pale-eyed girl let go of her boyfriend and got up. "You stay here. I'm going to finish the test for us," she said, her eyes burning with conviction.

Naruto smiled up at Hinata, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Hinata-chan," he whispered.

With that, Hinata was off...

Five minutes later

Naruto sat there, shivering. He'd heard a lot of noises over the past few minutes, and while logic was telling him that it was just the wind, he wasn't in the right state of mind for logic to take hold.

His head shot up instantly when he heard a scream. In his heart, he knew something had happened to Hinata. He shivered, terrified that the ghost had done something to her. He fought with his inner turmoil for a bit. He remembered how terrified he was in the orphanage, how horrible it was.

"And now Hinata-chan's..." he mumbled, then shot up suddenly and shouted, "NO! I WON'T LET HER SUFFER LIKE I DID!"

He rushed in the direction the scream came from like a wild man, tearing through bushes, weaving around trees, until he reached the clearing. It was oddly silent. He spotted Kiba and Akamaru's apples near the edge of the clearing, a good distance away from the apple tree. However, that didn't matter to him, as at the base of the tree, Hinata was lying on her side, whimpering.

"Hinata-chan!" he called out, quickly heading over to her.

The girl groaned. "N-Naruto-kun? Thank goodness you came. I w-was in a rush to get back to you, and I fell...I think I might have gotten hurt. Could you pick me up and carry me back?" she asked softly.

Naruto nodded. "Sure. That's what friends are for, right?" With that, he bent over to pick the girl up, but what he lifted up was not Hinata, but the spirit of an old woman, causing him to backpedal like crazy.

"_Thank you, dear. I'm sorry I used you like that, but I really want to go to heaven to see _my_ Naruto-kun. I'll be watching over you and my descendant here. I'm sure you'll both have a very nice life together,"_ the spirit said, then phased out of view, having apparently made it to the other side at last.

Naruto sat there, having fallen on his butt, stunned, until Hinata stirred. "N-Naruto-kun? Are you all right?" she asked. Naruto just nodded dumbly, not trusting his voice at the moment. "I'm very proud of you, Naruto-kun," the blunette said softly, sitting up. "I saw what you did. You thought I was in trouble, and faced your fears to save me. You were very brave."

Naruto smiled slightly. "Thanks," he said, then asked, "Do you know who that was?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, but I'm sure we made her very happy," she replied warmly.

The two of them placed their apples at the base of the tree and walked back to the inn, hand in hand...

Team Three: Shino and Fuu

"All right! Let's go, Shino-senpai!" Fuu exclaimed. Their journey went as follows. Fuu got them lost, Shino found the apple tree, they put their apples down by said tree, Fuu got them lost on the way back, and Shino found their way back to the inn...

The next morning

The writers' club members were gathered at the base of the apple tree. Shino, Fuu, Naruto, and Hinata's apples were under the tree. Kiba and Akamaru's apples were noticeably absent.

"Well, it looks like Kiba's got cleaning duty for the next two weeks!" Fuu exclaimed cheerily, slapping the dog lover hard on the back. "Serves you right for picking on Naruto!"

Kiba wept comically. "Akamaru and I went through all that, and we're the ones who lost?!" he cried out to the heavens.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata. "I'm just grateful everything turned out okay," he said, smiling softly at his precious girlfriend.

"You were very brave, Naruto-kun," Hinata added, snuggling her head against the young man's chest.

Shino simply stood silently for a moment, then checked his watch. "We should head to the bus stop soon. Why, do you ask? Because the next bus will be arriving in three minutes and forty-eight seconds," he stated.

Everybody but Akamaru panicked, and they all began their trek back to the inn, despite the fact that they'd be late for the next bus anyway. Hinata turned to look back at the tree for a second before it was out of sight, and she could have sword she saw two people who looked just like her and Naruto waving to her as they left. The blunette smiled. "Rest in peace, you two," she whispered softly.


End file.
